Orangy is not in her shell

[Chermo]

I woke up this morning and I took my morning look in the tank to see if anyone has dug or come up and I looked for Kermi and she was in the cocohut, I looked under the bridge to find that Orangy was out of her shell, she is alive but out of her shell. I left all alone and about 10 minutes later I found her back in her shell. I am worried about her, I have a feeling she isn't going to make it. I would try to feed her honey with cuttle bone sprinkled on it but she is hard to get to come out of her shell when I pick her up. I would have to put her in my hand and wait for about 30 to 40 minutes before she even though of coming out to eat the honey, she is very shy and skiddish. She is very pale too so I am not sure what to do, as of right now she is back in her shell so I hope all is ok. I will keep everyone updated. I forgot to mention how pale she is. I will upload pictures very soon. I have to get them transfered to my computer first. They are pictures of her without her shell.

[krabby_katie]

Awww, I hope everything is okay and that she makes it!

[Chermo]

Well she is out of her shell again, I at first surrounded her with shells and she didn't pick any ( I did rinse them in salt water first including her original shell), she didn't do anything with them so I now scooped her up and put her in a cup with all the shells. I am scared for her. I at first had to remove Kermi from her old shell so I did and now I just hope she goes in another shell. I have the cup in the tank with her in it and a towel over that 1/2 of the tank I put her in. What can I do if she doesn't go in her shell or a new one. Of course I have new shells on the way from the crabbage patch and they have not come yet.

Here is the picture....

[Chermo]

Ok so I just checked on her and she has chosen to go into Kermi's old shell that I peeled the paint off of. I put her back in the main tank and I will keep an eye on her all evening to see what she does next. I refreshed all the foods so I added tons of cuttle bone to it that I grinded up to a powder. I hope she eats something soon. I would try to hand feed her with a toothbrush and some honey but she is so skiddish that she always goes in her shell when I go near her. So what do I do if she does it again? I am scared that I am going to lose her. Should I have kept her in the cup with the other shells or was I right to put her back in the main tank. I don't have ISO so I would have to put the cup back in the main tank and there is no room for water or anything in the cup besides the 3 shells and her. HELP please, suggestions would be great.

[erikleeson]

Well if she's in a shell, I'd bathe her in stress coat immediately, there are gravel stuck to her everywhere, and that can irritate them, especially near the abdomen. Provide her plenty of shells and feed her some spriulina or honey for an energy boost. If she refuses to eat from your hand, just place her near the food. Then leave her alone.

You may want to invest in some aquarium background too, not only does it make it look nice, but you cover 3 sides of the tank, making her feel way for secure. She probably won't eat from your hand because she is so stressed.

Are all your conditions right?

One story I have to share is that one night Xavi and Zoidberg where sleeping behind the hut, and in the morning, I found Xavi naked but they were in the same spot as last night, but the shell was way off in the corner. I removed the hut so I could examine the crab, and he began climbing Zoidberg, I thought he may steal his shell, so I removed Zoidberg and simply placed Xavi's shell near him and he went into it. I didn't have any problems since, 2 weeks after the incident he switched shells and then a week later he went down for a molt and he hasn't come up yet but I am expecting him soon.

Good luck with Orangy!

[Chermo]

Yep my conditions are great. I don't have any stress coat and she is currently sleeping under the bridge again. I will keep checking on her through out the night to make sure everything is ok. I gave her a salt water bath once she was in her new shell to make sure she got all the sand off of her so I hope that was ok to do. I cleaned all the shells I offered her before I offered them to her including her original shell. I guess I will have to see what she does next. What is spriulina? I only have 3 shells in her size and that includes the one she came in. I have the other shells on order around 5 or 6 of them from the crabbage patch but they have not made it here yet. I was hoping it came before she decided to come out of her shell again but that didn't happen. I just hope she is happy with her new shell and can wait to come out again till the others come and are ready to be put in the tank.

[erikleeson]

Thats great. Spriulina is like one of those ingredients they have in protein powders and stuff, you can buy it at health stores but plain honey is fine.

Check her old shell to see if any thing is poking her.

I read somewhere that very tame crabs will go naked intentionally for a day to either try something new or regulate their body temps or something

[Chermo]

With her being so skiddish and afraid of the other crabs I think either something was bothering her and I rinsed all the shells out or she is getting ready to die, I heard they stress out and come out and sometimes that is a premolt sign or a sign of them being sick or dieing. I hope she is not sick or dieing just premolting, she has yet to molt and she is such an ashy color.

[erikleeson]

You should ISO her, she will be seperated from other crabs and can molt/destress. when she comes up feed her nice treats and when shes ready, put her back in the tank

[Chermo]

I don't have iso and can't afford an iso tank. I have been trying to get my 1 friend to let me use her old turtle tank that is like 55 gallons or more then I can use my 10 gallon for iso but I can't seem to talk her into letting me use it. She is not using it for anything else and I don't think she was thinking about getting more animals so I am sure it will just sit there in her garage forever. I am still trying.